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NUPD brings local teens close-up to careers in law enforcement

Photo: NUPD hosts it's first-ever Youth Police Academy, in which youth ages 13-18 who are interested in a career in law enforcement train with NUPD officers for a week. Seen here running towards Clemente Park on August 6, 2018 Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Tatiana Negron and Augustin Mejia both want to be police officers. This week at Northeastern, these 19-year-olds are among about two-dozen teenagers who are getting a close look at careers in law enforcement—and what it will take to get there.

“I wanted to get a better feeling of what officers do and have to do on a daily basis,” said Mejia, who lives in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood and is particularly interested in learning about investigative work.

NUPD is hosting its first-ever Youth Police Academy, in which teens who are interested in a career in law enforcement train with NUPD officers for a week. Here the teens are seen participating in exercises in Clemente Park. Photos by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Negron said she wants to become a police officer in part to have a more positive influence on her older brother, who has been in and out of jail. She said she was struck by the discipline required to be a police officer—a quality she wants to improve in herself. She also wants to improve her physical conditioning.

“I’m already getting a vision of what it’s going to be like,” Negron, also from Dorchester, said of attending the police academy. This fall, she will begin her freshman year at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Photos by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

The cadets began Monday, as they will all week, with jogging, pushups, and situps. Their day included an in-depth conversation about gun safety, a meeting with members of the Boston police anti-gang unit to learn about their jobs, and how plainclothes officers interact with the community, as well as a class on basic defensive tactics that police use when encountering violent or non-compliant offenders.

The cadets will learn about crime scene investigations, cybercrime, and criminal law. They will also visit a local jail, learn the basics of CPR, do walk- and ride-alongs with NUPD officers, and participate in community service projects.

NUPD juvenile officer Rachel Jolliffe organized the academy, which she said is part of the department’s broader effort to engage with the communities around campus.

The teens line up in formation outside Shillman Hall. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

“This is giving us an opportunity to connect with local youth,” she said, “and hopefully this is just the beginning of our relationship with them.”

Northeastern University Chief of Police Michael Davis greeted the teenagers Monday morning, offering words of encouragement and urging them to think about how they can invest in themselves to succeed in the future. He told them that the Youth Policy Academy is not just about learning the “nuts and bolts” of police work; it’s about the teenagers discovering what they’re capable of.

“I believe every one of you has a unique set of skills that you can bring into the world,” Davis said. “Only you can decide if the world deserves your talents.”

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